That rarest of beasts – the positive political ad

I like this Marco Rubio ad because it’s positive, avoids cheap shots at Charlie Crist even though Crist has made himself a very easy target, and because, quite frankly, I really loathe Charlie Crist.

I don’t pay that much attention to Florida politics, but every time I see or hear Crist speak I shudder. Politicians who speak in the third person give me the creeps. Only Bob Dole can get away with third-person-speak as far as I’m concerned. And Crist is like this overly-tanned cyborg politician, doing and saying whatever the political winds tell him to do or say.

Anyways, I know Rubio is a darling of the right at the moment, and it’s not at all hard to see why. He’s charismatic, has a good grasp of first principles, is a skilled politician, and he’s not lily-white. What’s more, he can pull off a positive campaign ad! If I recall correctly, his position on immigration is basically sane (though I’m not sure if that’s changed due to campaign and Tea Party pressures) which is not surprising given that he comes from the Cuban expatriate [fixed typo] community. His other positions are conservative boiler-plate so far as I can tell.

In any case, I doubt Crist stands a chance against him, which is probably why Rubio can run this sort of positive message in the first place. If the race were tighter, I imagine we’d see a lot more negativity. Then again, with all these non-profits running their own ads, why does any candidate ever have to run a negative campaign ad of their own any more? Why not let others do your dirty work?